First impressions of Moscow Raceway: It’s tight… but fun!

The new Moscow Raceway has come in for praise from the World Superbike Championship riders ahead of the series' first-ever event to be held in Russia this weekend.

Built with the intention of attracting international motorcycle racing, the Moscow Raceway welcomed the World Superbike and Supersport riders with an acclimatisation test ahead of this weekend's full event and reviews were mostly positive.

A fairly short circuit at just under three miles, the Moscow Raceway is distinguished by a relatively slow and twisting first-half, with bends blending into one another, before the bikes are unleashed onto a long straight in the final sector.

It's a layout that has drawn cautious praise from the riders, who admit the circuit is somewhat tight – and possibly lacking in overtaking opportunities in some places -, but is exciting to ride nonetheless. Furthermore, the riders are confident the tight final corner at the end of the straight will provide copious chances to pass.

Leon Haslam: So far the track is really fun to ride. It has many ups and downs. The corners are mainly first and second gear but it is a quite aggressive circuit and I like it. Regarding overtaking possibilities, the first and last corners are going to be exciting because of the two straights.

Marco Melandri: The track is pretty fun to ride but I think it is quite small for Superbikes. The turns are very tight and so far I don't think that there are many chances for overtaking in the middle of the track but we will see.

Jonathan Rea: First impressions of the track are that it's very tight and twisty. We're in second gear for pretty much most of the lap, obviously not for the straights, but it's fun! It's very technical and I'm enjoying it so far, but for the race weekend the times will be really close and I'm expecting tight racing.

Chaz Davies: I like this track. It's not too long as all the other new circuits I have been to and the layout seems to be done for bikes not for cars. The tarmac is ok and the feeling is good. It doesn't seem a fast track but there are some good places where I can get the best out of my Aprilia RSV4.

Loris Baz: The track is very nice, very technical and everything, but just a bit too slow. I love fast tracks so it is not my favourite.